34 Comments
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Claire Polders's avatar

That was fun! But now I want to stay a week in a luxurious ryokan!

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Glad you enjoyed it!

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Eugenia Ivanova's avatar

loved the questions! got some insights and understand myself better now 😆

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Stephanie Bax's avatar

Leave the moon to Musk and Bezos.. free us all up for more beautiful earth time! 🤣🤣

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Burcu Basar's avatar

I also blame those two for the low votes that our - otherwise beloved - Moon got :)

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Ahaha, I appreciate your time - the results, so far, to say the least are quite interesting :)

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Eugenia Ivanova's avatar

i know right?! i even surprised myself :) will play this game later with friends too, some of the questions really got me thinking!

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Burcu Basar's avatar

That makes me really happy! Honestly, I have not yet voted as I still need to think about many of the questions!

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Stephanie Bax's avatar

This was fun! Thank you. I agree with Eugenia.. I was surprised by a couple of my instinctive responses.

Also, the results of the moon versus one year on earth are revealing!

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Burcu Basar's avatar

That response rate (moon v. earth) shocked me the most. I initially thought of making it one year of free travel on Earth, but then I assumed Earth could have a hard time beating the Moon, but I was so wrong.

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Stefania's avatar

This was so much fun! Although for a couple of questions I’ve suffered like I was really choosing that for my life 😅

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Then my mission is complete :) As always, thank you so much for your time!

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Valerie Monroe's avatar

Interesting idea! But you're a little dark, pal. x

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Burcu Basar's avatar

That’s so true - this poll is all about sacrificial choices :)

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Valerie Monroe's avatar

Exactly! That's what I wasn't prepared for! x

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Xahra B's avatar

I voted on every question except #14! I’ve not seen (or heard of) either movie. Does that say something about me? Which movie should I watch first?!

(I’ve been binge-reading your articles the whole afternoon. Great writing and thanks for the fun poll :))

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Hope it was a good afternoon! Both movies are great. Into the Wild is based on a true story/book. I would say Sideways would be a better fit for the Holidays!

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Arjita Kulshreshtha's avatar

Loved these questions! :)

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Thank you for participating.

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Kana Chan's avatar

Very fun/hard 😅

“Only travel cities or rural areas for the rest of your life?”

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Ah, that is also a very difficult one. I will add it to next year’s one 😊 I honestly don’t know my answer.

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Japan Hub Notes's avatar

I've stayed at the airport for eight hours during a layover

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Me too - I think even for ten hours once - at Incheon Seoul 😊

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Francis Turner's avatar

I've actually stayed at the in-airport hotel in Qatar. Because yes I had an 8+ hour layover but it was IIRC ~10pm to 6am so the chances of seeing anything were low

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Ruben Vicente's avatar

Funny, but I would skip the airport wine with another beverage 😂

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Thank you, Ruben :) Please feel free to choose any alternative drink you like :) And thank you for the lighthearted approach :)

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Chelsea Park's avatar

Loved answering these questions! Some of them definitely made me pause (and probably overthink my answers). I've been a quiet reader for some time, but I wanted to thank you for sharing the fun - and all of your other intricately written newsletters.

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Chelsea, thank you so much. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. That makes me happy. It was quite a (and admittedly scary) diversion from the usual letters, but it now feels worth it.

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Francis Turner's avatar

Gosh a lot of questions where I want to ask qualifying follow ups.

Like can I go hike/bike/explore near the Ryokan during the day?

Because being trapped in a Ryokan for 7 days would suck. But I can think of plenty that would be a magnificent base for exploring the vicinity, especially if I can pick the right time of year

And on the Nature v Culturally rich, how do places that are both count? The Kumano Kodo for example? and how much non-nature are you allowed? I mean Shimanami is sort of nature, but it has a lot of honking big bridges connecting the islands

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Ahaha, I hear you! But even I don’t have the benefit of the full context when voting - it’s more of an initial-reaction kind of thing :)

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J M Hatch's avatar

IMHO you might have asked for some input on your questions 1st.

4 hours at some USA airports would barely get you through check-in and security, but you could easily go all the way downtown and back, including airport security clearance, and have time for dim-sum lunch from Hong Kong International Airport.

Sidney: Just the opera house, or the whole harbour/beachfront from which the opera house can be seen? For the former, If I was the type to take a guided tour, then I might pay to be left somewhere else on the Opera House part.

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Burcu Basar's avatar

Yes but then that would ruin the whole fun 😊 It is more like first reaction thing without much context. I remember visiting a friend during a 4-hour layover at SFO after flying in from Istanbul on my way to Portland (I might have done a similar thing in a few other US cities) but again that is not the point - it is not that serious of a poll 😊

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J M Hatch's avatar

Got it, just a reflex like a bar conversation.

I'm now curious, roughly when was that? I've not been through SFO in 10 years, but I do recall 2 hours just clearing security. I'd assume it's remained in a similar state to other USA airports that I go through more often, with international flight security checks long and arduous.

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Burcu Basar's avatar

It was in May 2018. I hadn’t planned to leave the airport, but everything went so smoothly that I did. My friend lived in Cole Valley. I’ve had my fair share of U.S. airport experiences including one on the night connecting September 10 to 11, 2001.

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